by K. W. Jeter
live in those shadows may be scum, but they are clever
scum, for the most part. The Rebellion can deal with
them, but the Empire can't. We need intermediaries that
are just as clever and ruthless, and the only ones that
fit the requirements are the bounty hunters."
"Your bickering does not interest me." The Emperor's
voice was like the lash of a whip, pulling both Vader's
and Xizor's attention toward the throne. Palpatine's hard
gaze shifted toward Xizor. "Even if what you say is
true-even if, Xizor, you have convinced me that your
words contain any wisdom- there are still problems with
the course you recommend. True, I prefer terror and fear
to any other 1 means of ensuring obedience to my
commands; fear obliterates sentient creatures'
essences, and that is always a worthwhile result. But I
have no absolute aversion to buying the services the
Empire requires, whether from bounty hunters or anyone
else. Perhaps Boba Fett and the others have no spirits to
be eradicated; if there is still something within them
that can be driven by greed, then I can use that. But you
still have not convinced me that these bounty hunters are
the efficient tools you say they are."
"My lord, I speak only of-"
"Silence." The Emperor grasped the throne's arms and
leaned forward, gaze boring into the slit pupils of
Xizor's eyes. "There is little that I do not know of in
this galaxy. I know more than you can imagine, Xizor;
remember that. And 1 know a great deal about Boba Fett
and the others, the ones who belong to the Bounty Hunters
Guild. Before you ever came to my court, I was aware of
Fett; not everything that you regard as a mystery about
him is a secret to me. He wears the armor of the
Mandalorian warriors; he's earned the right to that
armor, by his own prowess. Lord Vader possesses some of
the knowledge that belonged to the Mandalorians; I pos
sess more. Believe me, you deal with Boba Fett at your
own peril. But in that, he is unique among the bounty
hunters. You recommend them to me as tools that I can use
against the Rebellion; I say that indicates you are a
fool, Xizor. The Bounty Hunters Guild is a joke in which
I find no amusement."
Xizor bowed his head. "You anticipate the arguments
that I wish to make, my lord."
"I anticipate nothing but more idiotic prattle from
you. The bounty hunters with which you display such an
obsession are a fading remnant of what they once were.
The Bounty Hunters Guild is an organization of senile,
aging creatures and incompetent young bumblers. If any of
them had the least amount of skills, they would wash
their hands of the Guild and go independent like Boba
Fett." Deep disgust sounded in the Emperor's voice. "The
Guild members band together and cling to each other
because they know they would have no chance in the galaxy
on their own. That's why Boba Fett has nothing to do with
them."
"On that point, my lord, I must respectfully offer a
correction." Xizor displayed a thin smile. "The renowned
Boba Fett, the most feared bounty hunter in the galaxy,
has already applied for membership in the Guild. And I
anticipate that Cradossk and the others on the Bounty
Hunters Guild council will have no objection to his
becoming one of their number."
"That is impossible." Vader's words were flatly
emphatic. "I have had enough experience with Boba Fett to
know that he would never do such a thing. He values his
independence too much, and he has nothing but contempt
for the Bounty Hunters Guild. You've gone from unamusing
jests, Prince Xizor, to unconvincing lies."
"I neither jest nor lie, Lord Vader." He turned back
toward the Emperor on the throne. "Boba Fett has applied
for membership in the Bounty Hunters Guild at my
instigation. He does not know that it was my idea that he
should do so, or that his actions in this matter serve
the purposes of the Empire. I used an intermediary to
plant the notion in Boba Fett's head, one whose
discretion is sufficient for this task." Xizor had no
intention of revealing his involvement with the assembler
Kud'ar Mub'at; to do so would only heighten Vader's
suspicions about his network of shady and outright
criminal contacts. "As with everything he does, Boba
Fett's actions in this matter are motivated by his own
greed." As were Kud'ar Mub'at's; he had gone to the
assembler and pitched the scheme to it as the leader of
the Black Sun organization, and not as the loyal servant
of the Emperor. "His greed matches that of the aged
Cradossk and all the rest of the Bounty Hunters Guild.
They all think they have something to gain by this change
in their relationship to each other. But it is really
you, Emperor Palpatine, that shall reap all the
benefits."
"This makes no sense," growled Vader. "How could Boba
Fett be convinced that it would be to his advantage to
join the Bounty Hunters Guild?"
Xizor turned his knowing half smile in Vader's
direction. "It is a rather simpler matter than you think.
My intermediary convinced Boba Fett to join the Guild,
not to be one of the Guild's members- but to be the agent
of its destruction."
The Emperor nodded in appreciation. "I begin to see
aspects of your guile, Prince Xizor, of which I had not
been aware."
"In your service, my lord. Think of it You are as
knowledgeable as Lord Vader about Boba Fett's nature. His
cunning and ruthlessness are legendary throughout the
galaxy. Placed in the context of the Bounty Hunters
Guild, those elements are bound to be disruptive. Sharp
divisions already exist among the Guild's members,
between the old leadership of the council members like
Cradossk, and the younger bounty hunters such as his son.
The Bounty Hunters Guild is in many ways a microcosm of
the Republic that your empire has replaced an aging,
bureaucratic conglomerate with its best days far behind
it. Where once the Guild was nearly as ruthless and
efficient as Boba Fett, it now parcels out assignments to
its members, divides up territories and responsibilities,
pays off the galaxy's various law-enforcement agencies,
shares out the steadily diminishing proceeds to its
members, always with more going to the leadership, less
to the lower-ranking bounty hunters who are still doing
the hard and dangerous work upon which the organization
depends. So, naturally, those younger members, if they
have any intelligence and self-interest at all, spend
more time trying to claw their way up through the Guild's
ranks than actually chasing bounties."
Xizor let his own contempt sound in his voice. The
fate of the Bounty Hunters Guild was something that he
was not going to let happen to Black Sun; in that, he had<
br />
taken a leaf from Emperor Palpatine's book. Autocracy,
even tyranny, was how one kept an organization tough and
alive.
"The Republic deserves to die, Prince Xizor." The
Emperor raised one hand from the throne's arm. "It sounds
as if you have passed a similar judgment upon the Bounty
Hunters Guild."
"I did that which I knew you would want me to do, my
lord. Your attention is focused upon the weightiest
matters of the galaxy, and its transformation fr om
indolence and democracy to a hard, shining instrument of
your will. The fate of the Bounty Hunters Guild, while
necessary for us to determine to your satisfaction, is
but a small part of that process. And easily achieved,
given a wisdom that is but a reflection of your own. The
Guild is tottering, riven by the antagonistic forces it
contains. If the council of the Bounty Hunters Guild had
but a fraction of your wisdom, my lord, they would never
allow Boba Fett to become a member; they would be able to
foresee the doom that he brings into their midst. But
their greed blinds them; all they will be able to envi
sion is the possibility of his skills bringing more cred
its into the Guild's coffers. The younger members of the
Guild will see that as well, and their greed will also be
stimulated. Each group will try to bring Boba Fett
exclusively onto their side, and thus the delicate
balance that has kept the Guild in one piece will be
destroyed."
"You've put much thought into this, Prince Xizor."
The Emperor's bony finger pointed toward him. "If all
goes as you believe it will, then there will be rewards
for you as well."
"How can it not proceed as I have envisioned?" Xizor
raised his head, bringing his eyes straight into the
Emperor's intimidating gaze. "My intermediary has
convinced Boba Fett of the advantages he will gain by the
destruction of the Bounty Hunters Guild; that is why he
has gone along with this scheme. The Guild is still an
annoyance to him, a hindrance to his own enterprises.
Bumblers the Guild's members may be, but they still
manage to get in Fett's way from time to time. With the
Guild broken up and dispersed, nothing would stand
between Boba Fett and complete control of the galaxy's
bounty-hunter trade. The fees he charges for his services
are already astronomical; with no competition to turn to,
clients such as the Hutts would have to pay whatever Fett
demands."
"That may be so," said Vader. "But what benefit does
the Empire derive from the destruction of the Bounty
Hunters Guild? We can already pay Boba Fett anything he
asks for, but I see no advantage in being forced to pay
him more than he's worth."
"What the Empire gets," replied Xizor, "is a return
to the time before the creation of the Bounty Hunters
Guild. A time when the galaxy's mercenaries were all as
independent, hungry, and ruthless as Boba Fett. A time
when they were at each other's throats, with no pretense
of brotherhood. When the bounty hunters' greed was not
limited by the strictures of the bureaucracy they have
sealed around themselves. .Cradossk and the others of his
generation have grown fat and lazy, somnolent within the
protective walls of the Guild. Eventually, the Guild and
all that remain part of it will wither away and die-but
we cannot wait for that time to come. The Rebellion is a
threat now. The Empire needs many creatures like Boba
Fett, hungry and greedy, and independent enough to carry
out our dirty work. The younger bounty hunters in the
Guild chafe at its weight pressing upon their shoulders,
its chains tangled around their feet. To destroy the
Bounty Hunters Guild would be to free them-right into the
service of the Empire."
"You overvalue these scum-"
"I think not." The Emperor interrupted Vader. "Prince
Xizor speaks truly when he says that the forces under my
command cannot do that which the bounty hunters are
capable of. Or that they would be capable of, if the
Guild were eliminated. Greed is valuable to me only if it
is combined with a capacity for violence-and that
capacity is exactly what would be unleashed when the
Bounty Hunters Guild is no more. The survivors, whichever
ones are left after Boba Fett's presence has shattered
the organization, will be forced to adapt to a harsher,
less protected existence, one in which they can survive
only by placing their boot soles on the throats of those
who had been their brothers only a short time before."
The Emperor's cruel smile widened. "We will have, our
choice of them-each savage and driven by their unchecked
appetites. The prince is right; these tools will be sharp
and murderous, indeed."
"My lord flatters me." Xizor spread his hands, palms
outward. "It is only the wisdom I have received from you
that has guided both my thoughts and deeds."
"You are the flatterer, Xizor; in that, you do not
deceive me. But your value to me has been enhanced by
what you have done in this regard." The Emperor's smile
faded, replaced by a hard gaze. "You have taken a
considerable gamble in proceeding with your little scheme
before consulting with me; if you had not been successful
in convincing me of its worth, the consequences to you
would have been severe.
"I know that, my lord. But time and events press upon
us; the Rebellion's forces are not waiting for us to put
our affairs in order."
Lord Vader's image shook its head, the points of
light from the stars glistening on the black surface of
his helmet. "Better that our trust should be put in the
Force. Its power is greater than anything that can be
derived from all these petty manipulations. The Death
Star, Prince Xizor's unleashed bounty hunters-all these
distract us from the Empire's real strength." Vader
raised a black fist, as though crushing a rebellious
world inside it. "Do not let yourself be swayed by the
vain schemes of those who have no conception of the power
inside you-"
"Advise me not, Lord Vader." The Emperor's anger
flared, like fire suddenly revealed beneath gray ashes.
"You have some training in the Force's ways; you have
even exceeded the training given to you by your vanished
Jedi Masters. But do not presume to consider yourself my
equal."
Xizor kept his silence, watching the confrontation
between Palpatine and the black-garbed figure standing
before him. Let him suffer the Emperor's wrath, thought
Xizor with a measure of satisfaction. The Emperor's
seductive powers had created Vader, the call of the
Force's dark side turning him into what he now was. The
Emperor could destroy Vader as well; Xizor was sure of
it. And if that happened- Then my most powerful enemy
would be gon
e. And worlds would open before him. The rays
of the Black Sun would reach even farther across the
galaxy. Perhaps . . . even as far as the shadows of the
Emperor's hand.
There would be another reward as well, if Vader's
destruction came about. An even more satisfying one, the
reward of vengeance accomplished. That would be my
reward, brooded Xizor, not that of the Black Sun. Vader
had no idea-yet-of the hatred that was directed toward
whatever was left of his heart. The Imperial records had
been wiped clean- Xizor's credits and power had seen to
that-of any trace of the deaths of his family on the
planet Falleen, deaths brought about by Vader's own
experiments in developing new forms of biological
weaponry for the Empire. Xizor's parents, his brother and
sisters, along with a quarter million other innocent
Falleens, had been reduced to ashes by the sterilization
lasers Vader's orders had turned upon the bacterial
outbreak-but those ashes were still hot in Xizor's own
heart.
With his face a mask, except for his narrowed gaze,
he watched his enemy.
"I mean no presumption, my lord." Darth Vader bowed
his head in submission.
"Yet it irks you if I show favor to another of my
servants." The Emperor smiled and nodded slowly. "Perhaps
that is an indication of the depth of your loyalty to
me." His withered hand pointed to Vader and Xizor in
turn. "Your animosity toward each other serves my
purposes well. There is never a moment when you are not
at each other's throats, seeking what advantage you can
in your struggle to please me. So be it; it keeps your
teeth sharp. That is why I think Prince Xizor's scheme
has a chance, however slight, of succeeding. The bounty
hunters will be to each other what the two of you are
hungry and ruthless. The struggle will end someday, with
one of you destroying the other. I'm not sure which one
of you will be the victor. And I do not greatly care,
either." The Emperor appeared to savor the possibilities.
"In the meantime the Empire enjoys the benefits of your
little war."
One that I will win, thought Xizor. And after that,
it would be time for other plans and schemes. For all his
respectful words, the Force and the Emperor's mastery of
it meant nothing to him. Of what use was the greatest
power in the universe-if it even existed at all, and
wasn't just some figment of Vader and Palpatine's
